


Foxes Den

by LunarPlayer16



Series: Foxes Den [1]
Category: Sam and Colby, Video Blogging RPF, Youtube - Fandoms, Youtube RPF
Genre: Adventure, Blood and Injury, Completed, Exploring, F/M, Ghosts, Hurt Colby, Hurt/Comfort, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, PTSD, Paranormal, Protective Corey, Protective Elton, Protective Sam, Swearing, Warnings May Change
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-19
Updated: 2020-02-05
Packaged: 2021-02-19 15:22:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 12
Words: 19,927
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22313131
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LunarPlayer16/pseuds/LunarPlayer16
Summary: On a new xploration video Colby gets hurt and he is out of reach of the others. How dangerous is this mansion they are trapped in?
Relationships: Colby Brock & Sam Golbach, Colby brock & Sam Golback & Elton Castee & Corey Scherer, Devyn Lundy/Corey Scherer, Sam Golbach/Katrina Stuart
Series: Foxes Den [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1622377
Comments: 30
Kudos: 54





	1. Entering the Den

**Author's Note:**

> First realistic fanfiction and first Sam and Colby story. I hope you guys all enjoy it.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group goes on a new xploration. How safe is this manor?

Sam tightened the straps on his backpack, as the group started forward. Colby was only a few feet ahead of him as they came upon the chain link fence and they gazed up at the towering house in front of them. It was run down, and tattered pieces of the roof coming off in parts. Vines grew up along the sides, making it appear even more terrifying than it should be. The trees surrounding the area cloaked the building in the shadows, making the wooden walls seem almost alive. Corey cocked his head as he stared at the fence for a few moments before gazing at the camera he was holding up filming the group.

“We could probably climb the fence.” Corey suggested as Sam glanced at the top of the chain link.

“Don’t think that’s possible.” Sam said before pointing up at the top of the fence, the barbed wire hidden along the rim.

“Someone doesn’t want us to enter.” Colby laughed as he scanned the fence looking for any weakness they could exploit. “So why is this house abandoned again?” Colby asked as the group of three started walking around the edge of the fence, searching for any way in.

“So,” Corey focused the camera on Sam, “This place is known as the foxes den. A very wealthy couple built this house, and it's said that their last name was fox but I don’t know couldn’t find anything about the previous owners. Anyways after moving in they discovered it was haunted doors opening, voices you know. They ended up abandoning it out of fear some twenty years ago. No one has lived here since, however a few years back some kids broke in and found a body. So we should be aware that this place could get pretty bad.” Sam informed as the group nodded. Coming around to the other side of the house the group stopped as Corey showed the camera the house again.

"It looks like we might not be able to get in.” Corey stated as Colby stripped his jacket before rushing up the fence. Throwing the jacket over the barbed wire he scrambled across quickly before dropping down on the other side.

“Backpack.” Colby ordered as Sam slipped off the bag before throwing it over the fence as the taller man caught it. Sam climbed up next stopping near the top as he leaned down to the offered camera from Corey before carefully crawling over the barbed wire. Handing the camera to Colby, Sam finished his descent as Corey came after.

“Leave the coat?”

“Elton still needs to catch up.” Colby stated as Corey nodded leaving the jacket in place.

“That door looks like we could get through it.” Sam pointed as he grabbed the camera from Colby.

“Or you know that open window.” Colby said, gesturing to an open window. Smiling, Colby sprinted over to the window and grabbed the sill pulling himself in with ease. Landing on the stone floor and gazed around the dark room before giving a small cough. “We need masks.” Colby shouted as he rushed over to the window sticking his head out as Corey dug out the masks and flashlights from Sam’s backpack. Slipping on the mask, Colby flicked on the flashlight as the room lit up. He stumbled a bit as he came face to face with a mosaic fox staring right at him. The stones glittered and sparkled like they had just been inserted, and it caught Colby’s breath. Two other foxes flanked it on either side as they stared to the other parts of the rooms.

“Holy shit.” Corey stated as he got through the window as Sam pulled himself up and over before landing with a heavy thud.

“That’s creepy.” Sam piped in as Colby nodded.

“Yeah, weird. I guess we know why it’s called Foxes Den.” Colby said before flashing the light around the room, it was bare for the most part. A chandelier hung in the middle of the room and it was rather large, as diamonds shimmered against the light. “Why wouldn’t anyone steal this?” Colby asked as he crossed to the chandelier.

“You’d think that would be the first thing they’d take.” Sam stated as he crossed to his best friend. Corey was first to the door as he pushed it open into a grand hallway, the light stone in high contrast to dark walls that rushed away from them. An elegant gold and black carpet was sprawled down the hallway. There were two white doors on either side of the hallway which caught the attention of the group. Another jeweled light hung in the hallway, no light emitting from the bulbs.

“It looks like this place hasn’t aged a day.” Corey states as they move to the first door. Pushing it open, the room was demolished the wooden floors were splintered and cracking, the bed was thrown against the wall the frame broken. The windows were cracked and chipped in places, and the paint on the walls were peeling. “What the hell?” Corey asks before returning his attention to the hall which still looked immaculate.

“The fuck…” Colby whispered as he moved his flashlight to the next door before pushing it open. Black writing covered the slightly cracked mirror,  _ Help us _ . The sink was destroyed the pieces scattered over the floor, and piles of the wallpaper filled the cracked and broken floor.

“What is this?” Sam questioned as he pushed open the next door. Another bedroom just as ripped apart as the other, marks littering the walls.

“How is this pristine and this like hell?” Colby pointed between the hallway and the bathroom. 

“This isn’t normal dude. I don’t feel right in here.” Corey admitted as the trio moved back together moving down the hall.

“No, I agree. Let’s just make this fast.” Sam stated as the trio entered the main room. A towering staircase wrapped around the back half of the grand entrance, with red carpets and golden railings rushed upwards.

“Jesus.”

“This is insane.”

“What the hell.” They all said at the same time. Colby moved forward first his flashlight crossing the closest doorway, leading into the kitchen. Wooden floors clicked against his shoes and he glanced down at it for a few moments before satisfying it was safe.

“If this place wasn’t so sketch I’d totally live here.” Corey shouted as he followed after his friend with Sam in tow. Colby pulled open a drawer, finding the utensils as they shined against the flashlight.

“Why is this place like half untouched?” Colby asked as he shut the drawer before moving towards the living room. He stopped just short as a blood red pentagram covered the large white carpet overtop of the wood. “Well…”

“What is it?” Sam asked as he filmed the oven area, taking note of how pristine this all was.

“A pentagram, in the middle of the living room.” Colby stepped forward as he heard the other two coming over. Stepping around to the front of the couch, Colby flashed the light over the bloody carpet, before side stepping away so the others could see. He felt it before he heard it, as the ground below him, gave and Colby fell downwards, the edge of the carpet falling with him.

“COLBY!” Corey and Sam screamed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys hope you all enjoy the story.


	2. Unrelenting Fear

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam and Corey try to find a way to Colby.

“COLBY!” Sam shouted as he dropped the camera not caring if it broke. He tried to get around the couch to get to where his best friend fell, only for a hand to grab a hold of his hood stopping him.

“Dude, the grounds unstable.” Corey said as Sam watched the hole that Colby disappeared into.

“We can’t just stand here!”

“I know, bu-”

“Colby, can you hear me?” Sam yelled before falling silent waiting for a response. Silence was the only response they heard and panic warped across their features as Corey turned rushing back towards the entrance.

“There’s gotta be a stairway down.” Corey yelled to Sam as he scooped up the camera, finding it still recording and not broken.

“Corey, we never checked the last room!” Sam shouted, bringing the other to him as they bolted towards the unopened door. An office, sat destroyed as the two rushed around the room trying to see if there was a door but didn’t find one. Sprinting out into the rest of the house they searched the other side of the building. They came up empty with no sign of a way to get downstairs and they rushed back to the living room.

“There’s no service.” Corey growled before shoving the useless phone in his jeans pocket. Sam tested the wood hearing it creak under his weight, and he quickly backed off. “Colby can you hear us?” A voice whimpered from below before a single word could be heard.

“Fuck.”

“Colby, holy shit are you okay?” Sam yelled as he paced from the kitchen.

“No.” The answer was quick and Sam felt his heart plummet. He exchanged a look with Corey as he set down the camera on a peninsula in the kitchen, having the light shine towards the living room.

“How bad are you?”

“I… I… my... my arm… fuck… my side… I can’t.” Colby stuttered. Sam’s pacing increased the panic rolling off of him in waves. Corey tried to think before grabbing his flashlight.

“We couldn’t find a way down to you. Can you see anything?” Corey asked, trying to get the other talking.

“It’s dark… can’t see much… I… my head…”

“Hey, Colby. It’s okay, we are going to get to you. But we need you to find a staircase, we can’t find it. Please do you see anything?” Sam almost begged as silence fell again. The two waited for a few moments hoping to hear something anything.

“It’s… its…a pentagram…”

“What?”

“I… I landed o...on a pentagram.” Colby clarified as Sam wanted to scream. Corey took a deep breath before taking a careful step towards the living room as it creaked forcing him back. Sam didn’t need another thought as he leapt up on the couch, and he was thankful no sound came from under it. Distributing his weight he moved over the gray fabric carefully, moving as close as he possibly could to see into the hole. He was still a bit away so he couldn’t see down, but he could give Colby some light. Grabbing for his flashlight, he shined the light down the hole a bit.

“What do you see?” Sam asked as a pained noise escaped the hole and he had to restrain himself from leaping down it.

“I can’t… everything hurts…” Colby whimpered as Sam glanced at Corey.

“Colby please.”

“... I see… cement… it's so dark… blood…” Sam shook with the last word, before willing himself to focus as he moved the light. “Wood… glass…” Sam moves the light again, hoping Colby could see all around him. “Stairs… stairs leading up. Back towards the kitchen… I think.” Corey is yanking everything open he possible can a few moments later, tearing open the fridge to the different drawers knocking items out as he went.

“Good. We are going to get you out of there.”

“Sam... can you move the light a bit more...” Colby asked as Sam obeyed, moving it a bit to the left. “No… upwards.” Sam blinked before moving the light back and leaning further over the couch. A small moan escaped the floor below him and he closed his eyes, breathing slowly as the creaking stopped.

“It’s locked.” Sam’s head stopped.

“It’s locked?” Sam questioned, hoping he had heard it wrong.

“A lock on the door. I don’t…” Colby mumbled before silence, Sam wanted to shriek again. The noise of Corey destroying the kitchen filling the quiet, as he waited, the silence killing him. “I think… there's something down here…”

“Corey!” Sam yelled, causing the other to stop looking over his shoulder at the blonde haired man. “We need to get down there now!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here’s the next chapter guys.


	3. Blood Painting the Ground

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Colby’s point of view after the fall.  
> *Warning description of injuries.*

Everything burned, as his body screamed. Every piece of him cried out in pain as he felt something running down his head. Slowly, carefully he reached up with his right hand, his fingers lightly touching the area. He felt the sticky substance clinging to his skin, he didn’t need to open his eyes to know what it was. Colby took as deep a breath as he could, pain erupting from his left side as he flinched. Had he landed on his side? He forced his eyes open, before slamming them shut, his head reeling and his stomach lurching. God, everything screamed at him to not move, but he knew he needed to. He wiggled his toes testing them and was satisfied once he discovered he could. Pushing himself off his side, he had to bite his lip to stop the scream from leaving his throat. Holy shit what was happening? His head swam as he tested his right arm, minor pain came from it, but when he went to test his left, his arm roared back sending surges of pain tearing through him. He didn’t want to look at his arm as another screaming pain came from his left side. 

Blinking his eyes open, he noticed the falling dust and the faint light, leaving the hole that hung above him. Right, he fell. He could hear voices echoing from above, but he couldn’t understand the words. He forced himself to brace his right arm under him trying to sit up to look at his injuries. Fire burned from his side and arm as he blinked his bleary eyes, trying to will the tears that threatened to escape away. Taking a shaky breath, he finally looked to his arm and side. Shards of wood were sticking through his skin from his wrist up past his elbow, blood was dripping down the tattered arm and cloaking the ground. A much larger piece of wood was sunk into his side halfway gone from his view, as blood pooled down coating the cement under him. 

Colby forced his eyes shut, trying to hold down the bile that wanted to come up. Taking another shaky breath, Colby struggled trying to get his feet under him. He couldn’t stay here, he needed to get… where? A flurry of footsteps resounded from above, he ignored them as best as he could attempting to push himself up with his right arm. Blood rushed down the left side of his face, making it that much harder to focus and see. A painful whine escaped his lips as he lay down, letting the searing pain calm. He gasped for breath, slamming his eyes shut trying to focus on breathing. 

“Colby can you hear us?” His head pounded as he moaned, a single word slipping from his lips. 

“Fuck.” 

“Colby, holy shit are you okay?” He knew that voice, he knew it so well. He remembered it from his memories from years and years ago. They grew up together and the fear in the others voice made his skin crawl. Sam never sounded so terrified and he wanted to reassure him, but he knew that he couldn’t. 

“No.” He managed to say as he clenched his teeth, trying to ignore that roaring pain from his side, arm and head. 

“How bad are you?” Corey? He forgot he came with, it wasn’t often that the other came with on xploration videos. A small whimper escaped him as he accidently moved his left arm. 

“I… I… my... my arm… fuck… my side… I can’t.” Colby stammered his voice burning from the dust in the air, the mask could only block so much. He heard movement above and knew that someone was pacing by the sound of it, probably Sam. He was always the worrier of the group, you’d never see it on the videos but he was. 

“We couldn’t find a way down to you. Can you see anything?” Corey yelled as Colby blinked, forcing his good arm back under him. He tried to scan the darkness around him, but there was only so much he could see before his body told him he couldn’t do that much longer. His head drummed as he bit his lip, stopping a cry from leaving him. 

“It’s dark… can’t see much… I… my head…” His arm gave under him as his back slammed back to the ground a quiet scream slipping out. 

“Hey, Colby. It’s okay, we are going to get to you. But we need you to find a staircase, we can’t find it. Please do you see anything?” Taking a deep breath Colby, moved his good arm under his shoulder rolling slowly, painfully onto his good side. His eyes trail the ground around him searching in what little light he had. He noticed the slowly growing puddle of blood under him but pushed it from his mind as quickly as he could. He couldn’t get caught in his head right now. He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, taking another breath before continuing his search thick black lines caught his attention. He scanned them as the lines circled around him before they turned coming back towards him disappearing under his body and blood. He knew what it was immediately. 

“It’s… its…a pentagram…” Colby admitted just loud enough so the others could hear. Panic swam through him, his head spun forcing him to lay back down on the cement as blood clung to his skin and clothes. He was starting to sweat his breath coming in harder as his head throbbed. A noise caught his attention as he snapped his eyes up to the darkness around him, he was hearing things. He was losing blood, he couldn’t get lost in your head. His mouth was dry, was it always like that?

“What?” 

“I… I landed o...on a pentagram.” Colby clarified as loudly as he could. His right hand went to the wound on his side, attempting to find the major area the blood was coming from. He needed to stop the blood, he worked at the torn shirt ripping off a piece of it pressing it against the wound as he bit the inside of his cheek, holding back a scream. A creak came from above as the wood floors groaned with a new weight before a beam from a flashlight streamed down the hole. 

“What do you see?” Sam asked. Colby pressed his hand harder to the wound as he whined through gritted teeth. 

“I can’t… everything hurts…” Colby whimpered as he tried to release his breath as he started shaking, more sweat forming on his skin mixing with the blood. 

“Colby please.” Colby screwed his eyes shut. Taking a deep breath, he forced his elbow down, as he braced himself on his right arm feeling the tight pull of his injuries. He scanned the darkness as much as he could before following the direction of the light. 

“... I see… cement… it's so dark… blood…” Colby swallowed the pain and his eyes followed the light. “Wood… glass…” He said as he saw unattached windows leaning against the wall. The light shifted once again. “Stairs… stairs leading up. Back towards the kitchen… I think.” Colby said as he stared at the old wooden stairs, cobwebs were strung up underneath them. He heard a crash followed by more noise echoing from the hole, he could only assume someone was ripping the house apart. 

“Good. We are going to get you out of there.” Colby stared at the stairs for a few moments before a faint shimmer caught his attention. 

“Sam... can you move the light a bit more...” There was a few seconds before the light moved to the side away from where he needed it. “No… upwards.” The floorboards above moaned as the person shifted. Colby blinked as the silver padlock came into view and his mind took a minute to process what he was seeing. 

“It’s locked.”

“It’s locked?” 

“A lock on the door. I don’t…” Movement caught his eye out of peripherals and fear tried to grip him but he forced it away. He was seeing things, he was losing blood he was getting scared and his breathing was becoming harder. When did everything start becoming so much harder? Another movement rushed ahead of him in the dark, and he used his legs to push himself backwards, moving away from the movement as quickly as he could. He was leaving a trail of blood in his wake as it painted the ground a deep crimson.

“I think… there's something down here…” Colby almost cried as tears started to stream down his face, god he was scared. He was here alone, and injured. He wanted Sam to be here, he needed Sam to be here. He needed someone. 

“Corey!” Sam’s shout broke Colby from his thoughts. “We need to get down there now!” Colby hoped that they would be successful, but with that padlock he wasn’t certain. A voice whispered in his ears, sending a cold chill across his skin, making him shake his muscles protesting but there was little he could do to stop it. 

“Sam.” He heard the blond’s voice go silent as the crashing of noises fell quiet. 

“I’m here, Colby. Corey’s going to check the rest of the house. I’m not leaving you okay.” Sam reassured as another whisper ran through his head, and invisible hands pressed against his chest making it harder to breath. 

“Something’s here… something’s here…” Colby cried as more tears rushed down his face creating trails. His chest heaved trying to get in more oxygen, as he fought to keep it in his already burning lungs. It relented a bit as Sam’s voice returned. 

“Colby its o-”

“Sam something’s here.” Colby begged as the pressure started again quickly becoming unbearable, every inch of his skin burning as the injuries screamed. He was gasping for breath when the pressure released and he sputtered, trying to get air back into his lungs. 

“We are going to get you out of there, but right now I need you to keep talking to me. Okay?” Colby scanned everything he could see the first strings of fear weaving their way into his skin. He took a shaky breath pushing himself as carefully as he could out of the pentagram. 

“It’s n-not leaving.” Colby slurred as the invisible hands were on his arms, they were grabbing at him trying to pull him away from the light and into the dark. He couldn’t breathe, the pressure on his chest starting again as voices rang through his ears. Men, and women hissed in his ears as his shaking became worse. He tried to fight off the hands that grabbed at his shoulders and arms, but there wasn’t anything he could do. He was so cold, as sweat continued to form, blood kept dripping and tear trails stained his skin. 

“Breathe Colby. It’s not real.” Sam shouted, but he didn’t know. He couldn’t see the movement, he couldn’t hear the voices as they begged for help. He couldn’t feel their hands as they ripped and tore at his skin and clothes. He couldn’t hear their pleas as the chills rushed through his head, clouding it more than it already was.

“Sa-Sam hur...hurry.” Colby pleaded, he could hear yelling from above. He needed to get out of here.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was rewritten a few times now and I hope you guys enjoy it!


	4. Falling into a Nightmare

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elton gets to the manor and very quickly makes a choice that could have pretty bad consequences.

Elton groaned as he looked down at his ripped windbreaker before sending a glare up to the spot where it had caught while he climbed over the fence. Certainly Colby’s jacket had stopped his skin from getting caught, but not so much his own coat. Shaking his head, he started towards the open window as he heard shouting coming from within the building. He clambered up the window finding purchase on some of the siding before pulling himself fully inside. 

He knew he was late, Elton told them to leave and that he would catch up. The daycare didn’t have space for Circa and he had to argue with them to even allow her to stay for the few hours they would be gone. Then the Uber thought he was insane when he said to pull off on that abandoned road to drop him off. Then if it couldn’t get worse, he thought he had gotten lost cause his phone wasn’t showing him the right photos. He was relieved when he finally found the house, what he didn’t expect was the wonderful fence blocking him from getting in and that had taken him longer than he thought it should have to get over. 

“Guys, I’m here. The fuck is that?” Elton yelled as he stared at the silver eyes of the foxes. Shaking his head, Elton fixed his black baseball cap for a moment, trying to get his bearings of the room. 

“Elton! I need help.” Corey’s voice sounded panicked and it made the eldest snap to attention before sprinting in the direction of the voice. Pushing through the first door he saw, he sprinted into the elegant hallway. 

“Where?” 

“Here.” Corey shouted as Elton ran into a destroyed office before backtracking into the hallway. 

“The fu-”

“Yes, yes. It’s so vastly different we know. Help me find this hidden door.” Corey ordered as Elton gave the other a confused look before stepping into the office. 

“Hidden door?” 

“Colby fell through the floor and he’s hurt. We can’t get to him.” Corey informed as quickly as he could. Elton blinked before calling out to Sam and rushing after the yell he got in response. Sam looked at him from the couch as a cry came from the living room, Elton has never run so fast in his life.

“STOP!” Sam screamed as Elton came to a halt at the edge of the living room, a creak coming from the floorboards. He jumped backwards, finding safety on the stone floor as Sam flashed him with panicked eyes. Sam’s attention quickly returned to the hole in the floor, the flashlight beaming downwards. 

“They... they wo-won’t l-lea-leave!” Colby’s cry carried up from the broken floor as Elton stared at it, fear wrapping around his heart. Shards of wood were missing, the splinters littering the white carpet and there were traces of blood staining the white. He couldn’t stay up here, listening to Colby screaming for help. 

“We have to do something.” Elton said as Corey rushed back out to the kitchen, panting. 

“We are trying, there’s a staircase that takes us down. Colby said it was this way. We just don’t know exactly where it is.” Corey gestured behind him. Elton thought for a few moments his mind racing through thought after thought before he settled on what he was going to do. 

“Colby, its Elton. Can you hear me?” Elton called. 

“He-help me… Elto-elton… plea-please…” 

“Where are you? In comparison to the direction of our voices, where are you?” Elton clarified as he heard the strained response a few minutes later. 

“Ri-right…” 

“Elton what are you thinking?” Sam asked. 

Elton scanned the couches and grabbed the clip on his backpack, securing it in place. He sprinted forward crossing the creaking and moaning floor before he leapt up onto the first chair he could find on the left side of the room. The floor screamed at him before it cracked and the chair sank a few inches on the right. Elton readjusted himself making sure his body weight was evenly distributed before he took a deep breath, he looked at the other two who were just staring at him in shock. Jumping into the air, he slammed his feet down on the cushion, the boards caving in as he grabbed the back of the chair. He was thrown from the seat the moment it hit the ground, sending him flying to the cement. He groaned as he pushed himself off his right side, feeling the bruises as they were starting to form under his clothes. Damn that hurt. 

“Wha.. w-was...” The voice was quiet and slurred. Elton rolled off his side onto his stomach as he jumped to his feet as quickly as he could. His eyes snapping around the darkness taking notice of the massive pentagram and the blood pool. He forced his eyes away before seeing a trail of blood leading away from the pentagram, his eyes adjusted after a moment as he noticed the black clothes of his friend and he sprinted over to Colby. 

“Colby, hey. Hey, I’m here.” Elton stated as he grabbed the youngers shoulder, getting a flinch in return. “Hey, you’re okay. You’re okay, let me see how bad you are.” Elton said as Colby struggled a bit under the grip, before blinking up at him, confusion clouding his eyes. 

“Okay, I’m going to…” Elton pulled off his backpack, yanking out a flashlight. Flicking it on, he had to hold back the shock on his face and the bile that wanted to crawl up his throat. Streams of blood were rushing down the side of Colby’s head coating the whole left side. His left arm was ripped up, shards of wood dug into the skin. Another large piece of wood was torn deep into his side, blood sluggishly dripping down his side and staining the floor. Setting the flashlight down, he unzipped the windbreaker, yanking it from his frame before digging in his bag once again pulling out the pocket knife he always carries. He tries to control his rolling stomach, knowing he can’t throw up in front of Colby. It could freak him out just that much more, and he had to be the calm one in this situation. 

“I’m going to wrap up your arm and side okay.” Elton informed as he carefully moved closer to the younger. The look he got back held no familiarity in it and it made Elton just that much more worried. Cutting the sleeves free he quickly made work of wrapping up Colby’s arm doing his best not to move any of the shards of wood, each piece applied provoked a pained moan escaped the brunette. “You’re okay, you’re okay.” 

“Elton you alright?” Sam yelled down. 

“Fine, Colby needs medical attention. He’s pretty bad off, he’s lost a lot of blood. His lips are turning blue.” Elton yelled back up noticing Colby flinch at the shout. “Sorry.” Elton whispered. 

“El-elton?” A faint whisper escaped Colby as Elton stopped his fingers tying the ends so they remained in place. 

“You’re okay. You’re okay just breathe.” Elton muttered as he dug in the bag once again pulling out the only roll of bandages that his girlfriend was adamant about having him carry. He would thank her later. “Guys!” Elton shouted up towards where the two others were. 

“Yeah?” Elton grabbed the flashlight scanning the area finding the staircase. 

“That door looks like it’s in the office.” Elton said as he quickly flicked the flashlight around. That’s when he noticed the walls were covered in chains and blood splatter. Taking a deep breath Elton focused his attention back to Colby as he unwrapped the bandages and started to wrap up the youngers head. A pained gasp came from Colby making Elton stop his eyes snapping down to the other. 

“Elton… they wo-wont l-leave…” Elton gave him a confused look before undoing the face mask around Colby’s face hoping it would help him breath just a bit better. 

“Who?” Elton asked as he started back on wrapping up Colby’s head. Cutting through the gauze he slipped the end under some of the tighter areas before turning his attention to the side injury. He needed to stabilize it, if Colby jostled it at all, it could make it so much worse. He cut into the jacket again ripping it into strips, before starting to wrap up the brunette's side. 

“V-voices.” 

“There’s nothing here. They aren’t real, you’ve lost a lot of blood.” Elton informed, but Colby groaned again, his eyes flickering shut. “Shit,” Elton shook Colby’s shoulder, forcing his eyes to open, “You gotta keep talking. You can’t pass out on me okay.” Elton muttered as Colby blinked up at him. 

“M tir-tired Elton…” Colby stuttered as he whined from a small pull on his side injury. 

“Sorry. How’d this happen exactly?” Elton knew how it happened, he just needed to keep Colby awake. 

“F-fell…” 

“Did you guys find anything before I came?” 

“Some-som-someone’s here…” Colby slurred but it was the confidence in his voice that stopped Elton as he finished wrapping the final strip of his jacket around the youngers stomach. 

“Yeah, I’m here.” 

“No… s-someone he-here.” Colby whispered. 

“Sam and Corey are going to be here soon.” Elton said as he started to wrap the remains of the gauze around the shards of wood, working his hands around it as carefully as possible. 

“N-no… a wo-woman…” Elton froze his eyes snapping to the others. 

“What?” 

“An… ax-axe…” Colby mumbled as his eyes threatened to close. 

“Fuck, okay. Okay!” Elton batted lightly at Colby’s face, making the others eyes snapped open the panic swimming in them. Tucking away the edge of the bandages he was satisfied that the wood piece wasn’t going to move. “Colby, what are they saying?” 

“Wha…” 

“You said that there was someone in the house, a wom-” Elton started as a pair of shouts echoed from above, and a female voice answered back. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can see you are all really liking the story and it’s super fun to write. Thanks for all the comments.


	5. Surviving the Den

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A new issue arises in the Manor and the group needs to think on their feet.

“Get on the couch!” Sam screamed as a flurry of steps filled the basement before a crack sounded, sending the couch, Sam and Corey crashing down. Thankfully, they were unharmed, having held as tightly as they could to the couch. The two were shaking their hands practically white as they held to the sofa for dear life.

“There’s a psycho in this house.” Corey muttered as he fell off the couch not caring too much about the blood that covered the ground. They were all going to be stained with it by the end of this. Elton blinked at them for a few seconds before looking at Colby, whose eyes were falling shut again.

“No, no, no. Colby stay awake.” Elton whispered as Sam rushed to his best friend's side falling to his knees on the others good side making Colby’s eyes snap to Sam.

“We need to go.” Corey said as he flashed his light around the basement noticing the padlock on the door. They had nothing to break it.

“Children!” A shrill voice called as the clicking of heels sounded. The group fell silent as they turned off their flashlights waiting to hear the sound of the heels, they were thankful when they headed away from the living room.

“Bro we gotta go.” Sam whimpered as the flashlights came back on.

“How are we going to get out?” Elton questioned, as he looked down at Colby. “Hey Colby.” Blue eyes blinked up at him, as the youngest of the group continued to shake. “Do you know how to get us out of this?” Elton asked, his voice as quiet as possible.

“What are you doing?” Corey whisper screamed.

“Shhh…” Elton hushed the other. Colby sat in silence, his eyes trailing the ground almost like something was moving around that the others couldn’t see.

“A tu-tun-tunnel.”

“Where?” Sam questioned as he turned searching the walls.

“Behi-be-behind… boards.” Colby looked to the right at a pile of boards. Sam and Corey sprinted over to them quietly shifting the boards so they were away from the tunnel. It wasn’t big, they would need to army crawl to get out. Corey and Sam cast a look at Elton, who was staring down at Colby, who was fighting to stay awake. They needed to figure out how to get him out of here. Colby couldn’t crawl on his own let alone probably move. Sam slipped off his backpack and pulled off his sweatshirt.

“Give me your sweatshirts. We need to make a way to drag him through.” Sam whispered as Corey and Elton stripped their sweatshirts tossing them to the blond.

“I’ll crawl to the other side and pull him through, once we get him on it.” Corey muttered pulling on Sams backpack as the group nodded. Tying the arms of the sweaters together, Sam made a makeshift stretcher. The three moved towards their friend as he gazed at them, his eyes filled with a mixture of confusion and fear.

“Sh-she… coming...” Colby muttered as the group flicked off their flashlights. The clicking of heels sounded as her voice echoed from above them, she was angry.

“Where’d you go?” The group sat in silence. “Little brats come out!” She screamed as they all waited for her to notice the three holes in the living room. Sam had crouched down, holding Colby’s good hand, giving it small squeezes to see if the other would return the squeeze. Sam was thankful every time he did get a response, Colby was still awake. Corey was taking shaky breaths a hand over his mouth as he tried to remain as calm as possible. Elton stood in silence, trying to keep his face emotionless and his eyes locked on the tunnel, they couldn’t fuck this up. If they got caught, who knows what could happen, and with Colby already as bad as he was, he didn’t want to think about it. Elton made another decision right there, they were getting out of here together or he may be the one to remain behind. 

“Do it...” Colby whispered, catching the three others attention. A crash sounded from far above them, the heels suddenly sprinted away from the kitchen.

“Holy fuck.” Corey muttered as Sam dragged the sweatshirts beside Colby.

“We’ll figure it out later, right now let’s get out.” Sam said as Corey and Elton grabbed Colby’s legs and shoulders.

“This might hurt bro.” Elton stated as Colby stared at them before his head lulled to the side resting on Corey’s arm.

“We need you to stay awake.” Corey whispered. Elton glanced at Corey as he gave a nod as they quickly picked Colby up and moved him. Unfortunately, Elton’s attempt to stabilize the piece of wood in Colby’s side hadn’t exactly worked out in their favor. A scream ripped from Colby’s throat before Sam slammed a hand over his best friends mouth. It was enough to catch the woman’s attention.

“We gotta go! We gotta go!” Sam whisper yelled, as he and Elton dragged Colby to the tunnel. Corey was crawling through the backpack in front of him as quickly as he could, thankfully the tunnel wasn’t long. Once out, he threw the bag before reaching his hands back under as Sam shoved the end of the sweatshirts into Corey’s awaiting hands.

“Where did- my living room!” The woman screamed as Corey worked fast pulling Colby as quickly as he could through. Once Colby was safely through did Sam get on his stomach starting his crawl. A slam sounded from the door to the basement as the padlock rattled with the force of the hit. Elton watches in a panic as Sam finally disappears from his sight and Elton drops down throwing his bag underneath. The edge of the axe breaks through the wooden door as Elton quickly scrambles fully into the tunnel and Sam grabs his wrists pulling the eldest out.

“Colby!” Corey practically screamed as he tried to rouse his now unconscious friend. Colby was pale, and still shaking a sign that he was still alive at least. “Guys!” Sam and Elton scrambled to Colby trying to wake him up as well but to no avail. He was still breathing, but it was rapid and shallow, his lips turning more blue than they were before.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck. What do we do?”

“You stop running!” A growl came from behind them as the three instantly turned meeting the crazed eyes of a woman. She was wearing a bloody and torn wedding dress, her hair was wild going in all directions. But it wasn’t her appearance that scared the explorers, but the fireman’s axe in her hands. It looked heavy for her as she was sort of hunched over, the axe kind of dragging her down. They could run and they knew they could crawl over the fence and get away but they couldn’t do it with Colby. Elton moved forward putting himself between the psycho and the three younger men.

“I’ve got you.” The woman hissed an evil smirk crossed her lips. She started forward but stopped as a slam came from behind her. Elton froze as the window closest to them, flew open as the others around the house flung open seconds after. They started slamming open and close, open and close. In truth, it sounded like the house itself was angry. The woman stared up at the house for a few moments, before her attention returned to the four boys in front of her. She charged forward, swinging the axe wildly as Sam grabbed a handful of dirt throwing it into her face. The axe missed the group, as the woman cried out scrubbing at her eyes. The trio turned picking up their unconscious friend before running.

They needed to get out, they needed to get across the fence. A door on the side of the building swung open and without a second thought the group sprinted inside. The door slammed closed behind them and with a small click it locked. Sam huffed as Elton glanced at the younger, yanking out his flashlight. Corey stared at them for a few moments before shifting his arms a bit so that holding Colby, wedding style, wasn’t putting any strain on his injuries.

“The fuck is happening?” Elton asked, the fear lacing his voice.

“Who knows. Right now I’m not questioning it.” Corey admitted as the group stares down the gorgeous hallway.

“We are totally going to die here.” Sam whispered as the trio crept forward. The door at the end flew open, as they heard a scream from the door behind them. They rushed to the open door sprinting out into the foyer barely having a chance to catch their breath before a small cry came from the top of the staircase. A red fox stared down at them, its ears perked up high as it observed the group of men. Corey didn’t need another thought as he rushed up the stairs trying not to jostle his injured friend. Elton and Sam heard the front door groan and the woman’s voice came from the front half of the house. Sprinting up the stairs, the trio stopped as the fox started leading them down a side hallway.

“Fuck... fuck… fuck…” Corey whispered, feeling blood starting to cover his hands. They needed to get out of here.

“How are we going to get over the fence?” Sam asked as a door swung open nearly smacking him in the face. Stumbling backwards Elton caught the blond correcting him as the fox turned, heading inside leading them to a hidden staircase.

“CHILDREN!” The woman’s voice screamed from the entrance as Elton rushed in followed by Corey, and Sam quietly shut the door behind them. Elton turned on his flashlight illuminating the dark space as they carefully picked their way down the stairs.

“Guys, we don’t have time for this.” Corey hissed as Elton rushed the light over Colby taking note of how horrible he looked, how his shaking had started to subside and how his breathing was getting shallower.

“Fuck, okay… um…” Reaching the bottom of the stairs, they pushed their way into the kitchen.

“We have to find a way over the fence.” The fox gave a small snarl getting the trios attention as it led them back towards the foyer.

“Found you!” The woman screamed as Elton sprinted forward, pushing open the front door allowing the others out. Slamming the door behind him, Elton pressed his back against it holding it still. That fence, that foul fence that wouldn’t let them free suddenly had an open door right in front of the building. Sam was the first out, grabbing the edge of the chain link door, preparing to slam it behind them. Corey quickly got through as Elton took a deep breath, feeling a slam strike the door at his back. The fox at his feet, rushed outside of the fence disappearing into the towering plants that surrounded the area.

“Shit!” Elton yelled as he sprinted away from the front door, running through the fence as Sam slammed the gate shut. The woman came charging out of the house her axe high as it connected with the chain link but not breaking it. Sam pressed his body against the gate as the woman slammed herself into the fence trying to open it, forcing Elton to help hold it shut.

“Corey you gotta go!”

“Get Colby to the doctors!” Elton shouted.

“What about you guys?” Corey asked as he started walking, he knew they were right. Colby was still breathing, he could still make it, but with more blood covering his hands he wasn't certain. However, Sam and Elton were holding back a psychopath.

“GO!” Sam yelled.

“Keys.”

“In the backpack, front pocket.” Sam shouted as Corey turned heading back towards the car.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry guys for not being able to upload yesterday. Hope you guys are enjoying the story thus far.


	6. Don't Stop Running

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Corey needs to get Colby to the hospital but a fox has other plans.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, I know the note is in the beginning. I just wanted to thank you all for the amazing comments. I've had a few stories on the platform but this is the story that has been the most active with the comments. Again I want to thank you all for the support and I hope you all enjoy this chapter.

“Keys, keys, keys.” Corey muttered as he tore into the front pocket of the backpack. His fingers wrapped around the keys yanking them out quickly as he clambered into the driver's seat. He double checked the seat belt across Colby’s waist before turning on the car, he nearly cried when it roared to life. Throwing the car into drive he tore out of the hidden road, his hand digging out his cell phone. Still no signal, he hopes the others are alright. He pulls on another dirt road as he runs a hand through his hair, the panic rolling through him. He glances over at Colby still seeing the rise and fall of the others chest.

He’ll be okay. This is Colby, he does stupid shit all the time and pulls through it. Crorey tries to push the terrible thoughts from his mind. The possible outcomes that threaten to take over his mind, no, he needed to focus on the road. Taking a deep breath, he turned the corner and slammed on the breaks. The car came to a screeching halt, the vehicle hummed under him as he stared at the dirt covered road. The fox stared back at him, its silver colored eyes watching him as Corey tried to force himself to hit the gas. His head told him to go, to get on the main road as fast as possible, but he couldn’t move his feet as the fox watched him an intensity in its eyes, that held him in place. The fox rose to its feet, it’s fur blowing in the wind as its ears perked up. The fox glanced at the brush beside them almost waiting for something. Sam fell out of the brush obviously exhausted as Corey gasped.

“What?” Corey whispered in disbelief. The fox remained in place as Elton grabbed Sam, pulling him to his feet and the two sprinted to the car. Corey scrambled to unlock it, as the two guys threw themselves into the back seat. The fox rushed forward the second the back doors opened as the canine leapt into the back seat along with the humans. Sam didn’t even care as he slammed the door shut behind them and Corey threw the car into drive.

“What? How? WHAT?” Corey’s voice was getting higher as Elton held up his hand as he collected himself. He finally noticed the pair of silver eyes staring up at him beside his feet, and Elton took a few moments to process but ultimately he didn’t bother to bring it up. Sam leaned forward, his fingers finding Colby’s pulse along his neck, and paused for a few moments.

“Where’s the closest hospital?” Sam asked as Elton dug out his cell trying to pull up Waze. No service flickered across the top as Waze failed to load.

“Shit, I don’t know.” Elton admitted.

“Okay, well try to remember where it was!” Corey stated as they finally pulled on the highway. Taking a shaky breath, he scanned the signs that seemed to fly past them at incredible speed.

“It can’t be that far.” Sam whispered as his fingers remained on Colby’s neck.

“Come on!” Corey hissed as he kept pressing harder on the gas pushing the car faster and faster.

“Fox!” Elton yelled as the fox jumped up on his lap, before weaseling its way past Sam and onto Corey’s lap. Placing its paws on the steering wheel blocking part of Corey’s view.

“What are you doing?” Corey asked as they approached an exit. The fox started to chatter, its ears flattening as it practically leapt up on the dashboard. “That way? Okay!” Corey said as they swung into the exit.

“Corey!” Sam yelled as he hit the back of the passenger seat with the sudden turn. Sam grabbed Colby’s shoulders, holding him as still as possible. The fox’s head turned to the left as a hospital sign came at the top of the ramp. Corey jerked around the corner not even bothering to slow for the turn. The car screeched as it made the sharp turn, before Corey corrected the vehicle.

“Careful.” Sam ordered as he released his grip on Colby’s shoulders.

“I know but we are running out of time.” Corey stated as if on cue red and blue lights flashed behind them.

“We don’t have time to stop!” Elton yelled as Corey nodded, picking up speed, as the fox jumped on the center console, overlooking the group. The sirens blared louder as the cruiser started to catch up, but Corey kept his foot on the gas.

“Elton, grab the fox.” Sam ordered as Elton wrapped his arms around the fox’s body pulling it on his lap. Sam climbed on the counsel his hands pressing against Colby’s side, trying to stop the blood flow that was leaking through the makeshift bandage. “Can you go faster.

“I’m already going almost 80. I don’t know where to turn for the hospital.” Corey said before hitting the gas harder. A voice thundered from behind them, but the group chose to ignore the cop as the hospital sign came flying past. Hitting the brakes Corey, swerved into the parking lot making for the emergency entrance.

“Okay, Sam don’t let go. I’m going to run in and get help.

“If we don’t get shot.” Sam said as he pressed harder on Colby’s injury.

“Don’t remind me.” Elton muttered as the car came to a screeching halt in front of the emergency door. Elton threw open his car door as the fox jumped on the seat and he leapt out blood covering his hands, arms and a good amount of his shirt. The cop pulled up behind them as Elton sprinted into the hospital.

“Driver hands up where we can see them!” The female voice said as two other squad cars came roaring into the lot.

“Shit.” Corey whispered before obeying putting his blood soaked hands out the window. There were a few moments of silence from the officers before they came sprinting up to the window their guns drawn. Elton came rushing out of the hospital four nurses on his heels with a gurney.

“He’s here, please help him.” Elton begged as Sam slid off the console and into the back seat letting the medical professionals do their job.

“You three come here.” An officer said as he lowered his gun, noticing what was happening. Elton, Sam and Corey got out of the car each covered in different amounts of blood as they kept gazing in the direction the nurses were as they pulled Colby from the car.

“We are sorry, we are sorry.” Corey begged as he put his hands behind his head almost prepared to be handcuffed.

“You guys alright?” The female officer asked as she looked the three shaken men over.

“Fox manor…” Sam started, “There was a woman with an axe. She tried to kill us, I know we were trespassing, but…” Tears started to run down his face as the blond finally started to break down.

“We’ll need your statements, but you aren’t under arrest.” Elton nodded as Corey wrapped his arms around the shaking Sam.

“Can I...can we?” Sam hiccupped his attention fully on the doors where Colby had been taken.

“Let’s do them inside, and let’s make sure your friends okay.” The officer stated as the other two turned heading towards the cruisers mumbling something about the manor.

“Thank you…” Sam whispered as Corey led him inside the hospital with the officer on their heels. Elton turned his eyes scanning over the backseat of the car for a few moments. It was bare no sign of the fox or much else for the matter. Elton groaned, his eyes dancing over his bloody hands, as his side and back screamed from their bruises. They should probably all get checked out, and with that Elton followed after his friends leaving bloody footprints in his wake.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also one last note, if you guys want some bonus chapters. I have a few ideas about what to write, so if you guys want that just let me know.


	7. Silent Cries

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam needs to breathe

_ “Stupid children.” _ The woman growled as Sam watched the recovered footage from the camera. His eyes scanning the screen over and over as she started slamming the axe into different parts of the house. The computer hummed on his lap, his one ear cushion over his right ear as the other sat behind his left. He glanced at the motionless body on the hospital bed beside him, the faint beeps of the machine echoing through the room. Colby looked better, his color was back and he was breathing without the aid of a machine. His head was wrapped in gauze and there were patches of his hair missing. Sam knew the younger would be a bit irritated with the patches where the stitches were sown in his head. The soft words of the doctor were still ringing in Sam’s head, grade 3 concussion. Sam forced himself out of his head focusing his attention back on Colby. Colby’s left arm was in a sling, and the skin around his side was sewn shut and wrapped in tight gauze. His cracked ribs were bandaged, but it was hard to see them under the hospital gown. If Sam didn’t know better he could just say that his best friend was just sleeping peacefully. 

His eyes shifted to the other side of the room. Elton was passed out in a chair near the door, his favorite black hat hanging over his eyes. His legs hung over the right arm of the chair, his side bracing him as he leaned most of his weight into the back of the uncomfortable seat. His arms were folded across his chest, his own breathing the only sign that he was alive. Corey wasn’t even in a chair at this point, Sam had heard him fall out of it a little more than an hour ago. He had gotten up to check on Corey only to discover him still fast asleep a soft snore escaping the man as he slumbered. Sam had draped his blanket around his friend before tucking a thrown pillow under his head.

Taking a deep breath, he rubbed at his eyes, trying to push the exhaustion out. After stabilizing Colby the hospital had transferred him to a bigger place to perform the surgery that he needed. The helicopter ride wasn’t one that Sam enjoyed as his eyes never left Colby. Corey and Elton agreed to drive the three hours back to the Traphouse, gathering up clothes and moving to the hospital until Colby was able to come home. Colby’s parents were at the hotel for the night, with Sam’s calling often to make sure that he was okay. It was weird it doesn’t even feel like it’s been almost three days since the whole incident.

_ “Vile house.” _ The woman screamed as she slammed the axe into the wall ripping part of it down. Sam paused the video before huffing and grabbing his styrofoam cup filled with coffee, taking a sip of the now cool liquid. It wasn’t good, but it’s all that Sam could do, he couldn’t sleep no matter how hard he tried.

The doctors said the surgery had been successful, and that Colby should be able to go home in a few days. His family was reluctant to allow him to stay at the Traphouse, which was understandable, but Colby couldn’t really travel too far. It was safer for him to remain at the Traphouse where he would have a constant watch from his friends and family.

Sam scrubbed at his face, he should be happy. They could go home soon, they could get some sense of normality back. There was no reason for him not to be asleep like the others. Yet here he was wide awake because his mind was running a thousand miles per minute. He had been walking back to the room with a cup of coffee and two waters for Corey and Elton. He overheard them, those nurses they had said something that was seared into his mind and driving him insane.  _ He should have died, he lost far too much blood. It’s a miracle he is still alive _ . Sam cringed at the words as they wrapped through his mind.

He didn’t want to think about it too much, but it wouldn’t leave his head no matter how hard he tried. Sam knew that Colby was safe now, he had enough transfusions to last a few lifetimes. Shaking his head, Sam clicked play as the woman kept screaming. Finally, she turned her attention to the bite marks on her right leg. That fox most certainly made sure that she couldn't follow him and Elton. In truth, he probably owed his life to a fox.

Shaking his head, he returned to the screen as the woman yelled into the air no sign of any life beside her in the house. Sam paused the recording glancing over at Colby as the beeping kept pace. He thought? Colby’s eyes fluttered under his closed eyelids before settling after a few seconds. Sam watched him for a few more minutes before shutting the laptop and getting to his feet. Stretching, maybe he should go for a walk. Grabbing his cell phone, Sam slipped out as quietly as he could, taking care to shut the door silently behind him. The place was practically empty, no noise littered the hall and only a single night nurse sat at the desk. She looked up as he approached, giving a small smile as he nodded and continued his walk. 

He knew they were all okay, but there was a new issue that was starting to rise. They were supposed to post this episode this morning, and the fans were blowing up asking what was going on. Sam had said that something came up so the episode may not air and they will be offline for a while until things get settled down. The fans weren’t so satisfied with that answer, but they didn’t bother him again. Instead, they started firing off theories, some of them more ludicrous than he thought was necessary. At least they weren’t bombarding the group with messages.

His eyes hovered over a clock on the wall, as he stopped dead in his tracks. 2:54 am. Wait was it really that late? Shaking his head, he pushed his way into the stairwell descended the steps quickly reaching the main floor in only a matter of minutes. He headed to the door to the outside world, his steps resounded through the white halls. Huffing he stopped outside the front door as his eyes adjusted to the darkness. Faint parking lot lights filled the night, illuminating half of the lot as Sam sat on the curb running a hand through his hair. Sam dug his cell phone out of his pocket, glancing at the blank screen for a few seconds before setting it beside him. He just needed quiet. He needed to be away from the constant watch of the nurses and his friends, he needed to breathe on his own without the repetitive noises of the machines.

He screwed up… this was his fault and he knew it was. Sam had heard about this place through a fan on Instagram, and he thought it would be fun to go explore. Colby wasn’t all too sure about it saying that something was bothering him about the pictures that Sam showed him. It had taken some persuasion to get Colby on board but ultimately the younger decided it would be fun. Sam felt like an idiot, Colby knew something would go wrong, but yet he still went because Sam wanted to go. Colby was hurt because of him, he fucked up so much.

Sam ran a hand through his hair, tugging at the strands as he tried to control his breath and relax. His eyes were getting blurry as tears threatened to run down his face. This was his fault. Colby could have died because Sam wanted to go investigate this manor. What would have happened if the others weren’t there? What would have happened if that woman had gotten to them faster? His mind reeled as the tears started to fall, his breathing coming in fast as he choked on the sobs. 

He didn’t even hear the door behind him, he didn’t notice the person sitting down beside him. What he did notice was the hand as it rubbed circles on his back trying to soothe him as much as it could. Through the tears and his labored breathing, he could hear a voice whispering it was okay. Sam forced himself to look over at whoever was sitting beside him, as Corey gave him a soft smile. 

“You’re okay.” 

“It’s my fault."

“No it’s not. You didn’t know, you c-"

“Colby didn’t want to go.” Sam blurted as more tears rushed down his face. “He said there was something wrong with the house and he didn’t want to go. I begged him to go if only for an hour, and we compromised that I would invite you guys. If he hadn’t said anything, it would have just been me and him. He would have died in that house. He would have died Corey. I would have killed my best friend!” Sam cried as Corey remained silent, taking all that in for a few minutes.

“Breathe, Sam.” Corey said as Sam gasped for breath through his tears. “Relax and breathe.”

“What if you and Elton weren’t there?” 

“Don’t think about ifs. Ifs will drive you insane, the past is the past bro. I don’t want you to get stuck in your head.” Corey whispered as Sam dropped his head into his hands letting the sobs rake his body. Corey sat in silence, listening to Sam as he kept mumbling about it being his fault before more cries escaped the blond. He wanted to say something, he wanted to help him but there was only so much he could do. Corey opened his mouth, preparing to say something else before Sam’s phone sang. Corey stared down at the screen his mouth slightly agape as he read the name over again in his head. There was no way. Sam blinked a few times, his sobs becoming sniffles as he stared at the ringing device before sending a quick glance to Corey hoping for an answer. 

Colby’s name lit up the screen between them, but they both knew that Colby had lost his phone somewhere in the manor. Someone must have found the phone, and was calling Sam. 

“Do I answer it?” Sam mutters as he stares at the screen trying to will himself to move his hands towards the device.

“I… I don’t know…” Corey admitted. “An officer may have found it.” Corey supplied trying to reason.

“Maybe…” Sam mumbled before grabbing the phone and answering the call. He flipped it to speaker phone as the call was dead silent on the other end. “Hello?” Sam asked as a soft crackle came over the speaker before a soft female voice spoke.

_ SaFe? _

Sam looked at Corey not knowing what to say as Corey got his voice back.

“Who is this?” Corey questioned.

_ sAfe? _

“Who is using this phone? Who are you?” Corey asked a little irritated.

_ CorEY… SafE…?  _ The voice whispered as Sam almost dropped the phone. His eyes met Corey’s for a few seconds as he saw the fear swimming in his irises. 

“How do you know who I am?” Corey questioned more curious than irritated. 

_ SAfe? _

“Yes,” Sam blurted, “We are safe. Now who are you?” The call dropped as Sam stared at the blank screen for a few moments. 

“Let’s go back up.” Corey suggested as Sam nodded, grabbing his phone and the two headed inside. 

“Hey.” Elton whispered from where he was sitting, in his hand, sat his phone as he stared at his recent calls. “Did you guys get a call from Colby’s phone?” Elton asked, looking at the two for a few moments.

“Yeah, why?"

“It just called me and asked if I was safe. I was thinking you two were playing a prank on me, but I know none of us have his phone.” Elton admitted as the group fell into silence. Elton licked his lips, setting his phone on his lap.

“Let’s get some sleep.” Corey whispered as he picked up one of the discarded blankets and pushed Sam into his chair.

“I’m okay.” 

“Sleep.” Corey ordered as he returned to his own seat and settled in. Elton watched the two for a while waiting for them to finally doze off. Elton was silent as he grabbed his phone again hitting the voicemail messages on his phone, he found the one he had been listening to earlier. Raising it to his ear, he listened to the voices that hissed through the speaker. 

_ THey nEed... StaY saFE…  _ another voice hissed in the background _ … AwaY sAfE…  _ more voices whispered _ … fOX… aWAy… FIrE… EltOn… coLbY… SafE… sTAy… _ the message ended.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys so right now there is only a few chapters left. I hope you are all enjoying.


	8. Memories are Fickle Things

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kat and Devyn are taking care of Colby while the others are gone.

Kat glanced up at Devyn as the two sat in silence, their attention not entirely on their phones, but on the creaks and moans of the Traphouse. They weren’t listening for slamming doors or signs of something else being in the house, they were listening for something in particular. The notification on Devyn’s phone went off, startling the two girls as they silently slid off of Sam’s bed, crossing to his desk in a few steps. Kat grabbed the first medicine bottle reading over the instructions that she’s read a few hundred times now before cracking the bottle open. Dumping three pills into her hand, she watched Devyn grab for another bottle dropping two into her hand before grabbing the water bottle. 

The house was quiet, it was just the three of them here now, everyone else had gone out leaving the two girls with Colby. He’d been sleeping when the others left, and Sam had given him his pain meds saying the girls should only have to give it to him twice before the group got back. Kat and Devyn said that was fine that they could handle it, how bad could Colby be when he’s pretty heavily drugged and in pain? Well… It wouldn’t have been so bad if Colby had recognized them. Devyn cast a final glance at Kat before leading them out of Sam’s room and across the hall. 

“Quiet.” Kat whispered as Devyn softly touched the partly open door, glancing around the dark room. It was almost uncomfortably quiet as she pushed the door open the rest of the way having it squeak with the movement. Devyn froze, hearing no noise, but soft breathing from the far side of the room as she took a step inside with Kat on her heels. 

“Kat he needs to take yours first.” Devyn muttered as she glanced at her friend for a few moments before her attention returned to the bed on the other side of the room. 

“I know but we gotta wake him up before that point.” Kat answered. Movement came from the bed causing the two women to stop their bodies freezing in place. The two exchanged looks before moving again towards the edge of the bed, and Devyn tapped Colby on the shoulder. She waited for a few moments getting no response before shaking his shoulder. 

“What…” Colby whispered as Devyn stepped backwards, letting Kat come forward. 

“Hey Colby, you gotta take your pain meds.” Kat said as she held out her hand, offering the young man the pills. 

“Who...” 

“It’s Kat. You know me.” 

“I… where’s Sam?” Kat hesitated, he asked for Sam last time too, before he started having a panic attack and she had to call her boyfriend to get Colby to calm down. 

“Sam isn’t here at the moment. Okay, I’m just here to give you your meds and then you can go back to sleep.” Kat stated as she heard Colby’s breathe hitch. “Devyn open the window.” Kat said as Devyn pushed up the window shade halfway allowing some of the light to come in. 

“I…” Colby mumbled as Kat looked at him, finally able to see his face. He still looked sick to her, but Sam had stated he was a lot better than before. His mother had cut his hair short, something he had protested even though he was pretty out of it. Colby blinked at her, his eyes finally adjusting to the bit of light that was coming through the window. 

“You know me. Don’t you?” Kat asked as Colby looked her over confusion clouding his features. 

“No. Where’s Sam?” Kat felt her throat constrict and she set her pills down on the side table. They had said his memory may be a bit screwy for a while, but this… 

“Sam will be back in a while. He asked us to give you your pain meds okay. Would you like me to call him for you?” Kat questioned as Colby nodded. Kat dug out her phone dialing Sam’s number as quickly as she could and hit the speaker. The phone rang once… twice… three times… Kat’s heart dropped as she was thrown into the answering machine, she needed him right now. 

“You don’t.” Colby muttered as he started to sit up and Kat puts her hands on his shoulder trying to push him back down. 

“Sam’s busy, Colby. It’s okay. You know me, you know me. It’s Kat, Sam’s girlfriend. You know me.” Kat begged as Colby pushed her off, before Devyn stepped forward. 

“Do you remember me?” The lack of recognition was enough of an answer as Colby sat up. He was supposed to stay in bed, he wasn’t supposed to be up and about. “It’s Devyn, Colby. Corey’s girlfriend.” Colby shook his head as he started to get to his feet. Kat scrambled for her phone redialing Sam’s number. 

“Wheres…” Colby stuttered his uninjured hand going to his head as he swayed. Kat and Devyn leapt forward, grabbing his good arm and bracing his back before Colby collapsed into them dragging the three of them down to the floor. 

“You’re okay. You’re home, you’re safe.” Kat muttered as she felt Colby starting to shake, he was starting to hyperventilate. She looked at Devyn mouthing the words call Corey. Devyn grabbed her phone from her pocket, dialing her boyfriend as Corey picked up on the second ring. 

“Hey babe what’s up?” 

“Do you have Sam?” Devyn asked as she rubbed at Colby’s back trying to get him to calm down. 

“I do. Hold up a minute.” Corey’s voice could be heard as he called for Sam and a muffled response came back. “Here he is.” The phone was changed as Sam cleared his throat. 

“What’s up Devyn?” 

“Colby, there’s Sam. See it’s okay.” Devyn whispered as Colby blinked up at her. 

“Hey brother, how are you feeling?” Sam asked as Colby turned his attention to the phone, as the voice registered. 

“Sam?” 

“Yeah, it’s me bro. Colby is everything okay?” 

“I don’t… I don’t know.” Colby admitted as Kat and Devyn maneuvered him so he was sitting up his back pressed against the side of the bed. “Who?” 

“It’s okay, Colby. It’s Kat and Devyn. You know them. They’re your friends.” Sam reassured as Colby looked at them for a few minutes before rubbing at his forehead. “I’m guessing they woke you up so you could take your medicine.” Kat nodded as she grabbed the pills off the side table holding them out for Colby who didn’t even hesitate to take them. Devyn grabbed the water bottle opening it and handing it to Colby who downed a few gulps of it. Kat rubbed at her eyes, why did it have to be like this? Colby finished off the last of the water after taking the pills Devyn gave him. 

“Not fast.” Kat stated as Colby stopped looking at her for a few moments. 

“Okay, I’ll call later. Colby get some more sleep, Kat and Devyn are going to be taking care of you until I come home.” 

“Okay.” Colby muttered as Sam hung up, leaving the three sitting there in silence. “I’m sorry I can’t remember.” 

“Nothing to apologize for.” Kat smiled as she got to her feet along with Devyn. The two girls helped Colby to his feet, getting him settled in his bed and within minutes he was asleep. Devyn closed the curtain, before the two girls left the room, heading across the way to Sam’s room. 

“That wasn’t as bad as before.” Devyn admitted as she ran a hand through her hair. 

“Yeah, I know.” Kat muttered as she pulled her knees to her chest resting her chin on them. Silence, overcame the two again as they waited for any noise or any sound to escape the bedroom again. They were exhausted from their interaction earlier with Colby, it wasn’t his fault they both knew that. But it didn’t make it any easier to try to calm him out of his nightmare induced panic, especially when he didn’t recognize them. He had called out for Sam again and again begging for him to help him. It was a miracle when they had succeeded in getting him to calm down enough to pass out. Devyn relaxed into the bed as she messaged Corey explaining exactly what happened.  
  
They would be home soon enough, Kat kept repeating and then she could go home to sleep. She wanted that so bad, yet she knew she would stay with Sam as long as he needed her. 

It was another hour later when Circa started barking welcoming the guys home from their adventure. Devyn was immediately down the stairs, leaving Kat in her boyfriend's room alone. She was spinning the phone in her hand when Sam came in dropping all his stuff on the floor with a thud before he crossed to her, planting a kiss on her cheek. 

“I’m sorry. I left my phone in the car, while we were grabbing stuff from the gas station.” Sam admitted as Kat wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him on the bed. 

“How was it?” Kat asked as she dug her head into the crook of her boyfriend's neck. The silent response was almost deafening as she gazed up at Sam noticing his pain filled eyes. “Hey, you’re okay.” Kat whispered into his neck as Sam’s arms tightened around her. 

“I… I could have died today.” Sam muttered as Kat felt the hot tears threatening to fall. No, she couldn’t cry. She needed to be strong for both Sam and Colby, they both needed her. Pushing her emotions down, she hummed into Sam’s chest, making him laugh a bit, as he placed a kiss on her head. 

“I love you.” Kat whispered as she heard Sam hum back in response. 

“Love you too.” He answered his arms wrapping around her tighter. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here’s the next chapter guys.


	9. Burning the Pain Away

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Why the hell did they do this?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys I forgot to put a small notice at the beginning of the last chapter. Anyways this chapter is technically before the previous chapter, this is also taking place approximately 3-4 days after Colby is out of the hospital. Sorry I forgot to insert that information within the chapter itself.
> 
> Also of course Sam would have some form of PTSD due to him believing it was his fault. So warning on that, it isn’t much but it’s still a warning.
> 
> Anyways I hope you are all enjoying the story and thank you all for your comments.  
> ~

“I should be there.” Sam grumbled as he moved the phone just a little bit more between his shoulder and ear. He shifted as Kat huffed on the other end, his foot kicking at some of the dirt and rocks.

“What exactly would you be able to do?” 

“Keep him calm.” Sam mumbled as he heard a shout behind him. 

“He didn’t recognize us, he’s so out of it on those pain meds.” 

“He was screaming for me Kat. He recognizes me, that’s the issue I knew we’d run into. I should just head back home.” Sam said as he kicked a piece of glass having it crash into the wall beside him. Elton’s voice rang through the air, as he yelled something about the stupid speakers. A laugh echoed from another part of the room, where Brennen was cackling like a maniac. Jake was fixing his face mask as he partly leaned on the sledgehammer, as Aaron slammed his into the countertop sending pieces everywhere. 

“Sam, come on.” Corey shouted as he ripped a door from its hinges connected to a small pantry in the kitchen. 

“He fell back asleep a few minutes ago. Just burn that place to the ground.” Kat stated as she hung up and Sam tucked the phone away in his jeans. Pulling his sledgehammer, he slammed it down on the rotten floorboards that started this whole mess. One of the officers from when they got to the hospital was leaning against the fridge as Elton fumbled with the stupid wireless speakers finally getting them to connect. 

“$200.” The officer whispered as he puffed out a breath of cigarette smoke. 

“It's a fair price.” Elton stated as he flickered through Spotify, finding a playlist he liked. 

“Honestly I would have done it for a 100.” Jake laughed from the other side of the room, slamming his hammer into a cabinet knocking it off it’s base. Sam fixed his mask, before striking the floor once again watching the pieces fall down into the basement below. He tried to ignore the sight of the dried blood below, but it still looked fresh to Sam. 

“Bro, get away from that ledge.” Brennen said, yanking Sam backwards by the hood. Sam shook his head, turning his attention to the wall splitting the kitchen and living room. His mind told him to destroy everything, not one piece of this house should be left standing. He kicked the shards into one of the holes in the living room. 

“Pile everything down below, we’ll throw the gasoline and light it from up here.” Sam ordered as the others yelled back in response. The faster that this place burned to the ground the better. His skin crawled at the memories as he grabbed for some of the installation with his gloved hand throwing the pink foam into the pit below. 

“Do you guys like this?” The metal music roared from the speakers as group cheered continuing with their destruction of the house. Elton smiled behind the mask, grabbing his crowbar hooking it on the door frame ripping it down easily. 

“So she’s in prison?” Corey asked as the officer pulled his cigarette from his mouth. 

“Psychiatric ward near the border. She won’t be coming back any time soon.” The officer chuckled the bandage on his right hand still fresh and clean, from its change when the group got here less than half an hour ago. From the story that he told the group, the woman had managed to catch his hand with the edge of the axe. He was lucky it wasn’t worse. 

“Sam!” Elton shouted catching the blond’s attention. “Help me with the foyer.” Sam nodded as he followed his roommate into the other room. Sprinting forward, the sledgehammer took out the closest bannister sending the pieces of wood skidding across the stone floor. Elton kicked over the table in the middle of the room, sending it crashing down with a sickening crack as it broke into pieces. 

“Let’s just hurry this up.” Sam muttered as Elton gave his friend a curious look. 

“What’d Kat say?” Elton asked. 

“Colby woke up screaming for me.” Sam answered as Elton stopped staring at him. 

“You want to head back?” 

“They said that he passed out not too long ago. If he wakes up again, I might have to make the drive home.” Sam admitted. 

“The girls can take care of him, we’ll only be here for at most an hour.” Elton pointed out as he hooked another bannister with his crowbar ripping it from its spot on the stairs. Aaron came walking in picking up the discarded pieces of wood that litter the floor, dragging them into the other room. 

“The faster we burn this place to the ground, the faster we can get home.” Sam said, slamming the sledgehammer into the side of the staircase. 

“Burn it to the ground.” Jake yells as he walks through the foyer, heading to the front door. He disappears outside, as the other two continue to rip the house apart each swing chipping away piece by piece of the memories that taint their minds. Jake returns a few minutes later carrying two containers of gasoline and he almost beams at the others behind the face mask before heading back towards the living room. The front door creaked as the female officer walked in two more gasoline containers in her hand as she looked at Sam and Elton. 

“Still can’t believe you guys did this.” She whispered, glancing around the manor almost in awe. 

“$200 to burn this place to the ground is a steal.” Sam muttered as he charged up the stairs taking out a few more bannisters along the way. Elton rolled his eyes as he ripped his crowbar into the wall, tearing down some of the boards holding it in place. The woman nodded, following after Jake into the other room, the sounds of the gasoline spilling as they started to dump it on the items in the basement. 

“You alright?” Elton called up to Sam as Corey walked into the foyer. Sam stared at the stairs remembering everything like it was yesterday, even though it was just over a week ago. 

“Just weird you know.” Sam whispered barely loud enough for the others to hear. Corey glanced at Elton, the concern muddling his features. Sam hadn’t been himself since the incident, Corey understood Sam still blamed himself for everything. He believed he was still at fault, even though there was no way they could have known. 

“Hey bro, how about we tackle the mural.” Corey said catching Sam’s attention. Sam blinked at him before nodding and starting back down the stairs. A creaking sounded from under his feet as Sam stopped standing stock still as the boards moaned with the weight. Elton and Corey moved forward, trying to start up the stairs as they cried back at them, not allowing them to go up. 

“Sam don’t move.” Elton ordered as he dropped his crowbar, letting it clatter to the ground. 

“What do I do! What do I do!” Sam screamed as the staircase growled back at him, soft snaps coming from below his feet. 

“You gotta jump to us.” Corey said as Sam glanced at them. He’d have to leap the railing, and it was nearly up to his waist. He’d need almost a running start to be able to make the jump, he didn’t know if he could. Otherwise, he’d have to slowly climb over the railing, but getting to the thing itself might prove impossible. 

Panic soared through him, as his breathing increased he was going to fall. He was going to fall through the stairs and slam into the stone, he was higher up than Colby was. He was going to die, they came back to burn this place to the ground and it was going to be his death. He was going to die because Colby didn’t. He probably deserved it, Sam reasoned it was his fault that they came in the first place and he was the reason they came back. 

“Sam!” Elton yelled, bringing Sam back to the present. The others were below him now, as they tried to figure out a way to get him down without hurting himself. “Breathe Sam!” Elton shouted as Sam took a shaky breath. 

“We are going to get you out of this okay, but we need you to stay focused on us.” Corey stated as Sam gave a small nod. He trusted them, they were his friends, of course they would figure out a way to get him out of this. This horrible house would not take another life or try to again as long as his friends were here. 

_ CHILDREN! _

His head reeled as he heard the woman’s voice ring through his ears. His panic becoming unbearable as his heart raced faster in his chest. He could hear the clicking of her heels as he tried to stay still but his legs wanted to run. To run from this terrible place as fast as he could, leaving the building behind. They shouldn’t have come back, they should have stayed at home and let the manor rot. 

_ Where are you?  _

He was shaking now, and he was gasping to keep his breath in his lungs. The clicking of heels was getting closer now, each step making him want to bolt. He couldn’t move, he couldn’t get his body to obey. He needed to move. He saw the glint of the axe out of his peripherals and he flinched before looking to where it was only to discover it gone. He was going insane, he was going insane! He could hear voices as they called his name, almost begging him to stay. He could feel hands as they ripped at his arms, trying to pull him away from the edge and towards the wall. Is this what Colby felt? The voices were getting louder, they were getting stronger and the hands were pulling harder. He needed to get ou-

A soft cry broke him from his twisted mind as he looked up to the top of the staircase as the red fox stared down at him. The silver in its eyes studying him intently as it’s ears flicked back and forth. The voices went quiet, the hands stopped their assault and his head calmed as those eyes stared into his own. 

“SAM!” Elton’s voice screamed as the eldest stood as close to the stairs as he could without going up them. Sam turned his attention to him, getting his breath back. 

“I’m okay.” Sam whispered as the relief flickered across Elton’s face.

“You gotta jump, we are going to catch you. Okay, just take it nice and easy. One step at a time.” Elton ordered as Sam nodded as the others approached the edge of the stairs. Sam looked down at the creaking boards below him, and felt his breath hitch at the sight. They were cracking as the wood moaned when he shifted a bit on his feet. A swift movement raced to him stopping only a step away as the fox glanced up at him. Taking a tentative step down the fox, stepped far to the left of the wood before looking at Sam. 

He blinked before moving his left foot to the spot as the fox leapt to the other side, a few inches ahead. Sam mimicked the movement, shifting his right foot to the new spot as the fox moved again, this time in the middle of the step. Sam hesitated as the wood under him moaned as he carefully placed his foot in the middle. The fox leapt to the right, as he matched it the fox took two steps backwards as it hit the railing and Sam followed after. He gripped the railing hard, his knuckles turning white as the piece of metal under his hands groaned. It wasn’t stable, it was missing so many bannisters. He’d have to trust them to catch him, he’d have to make this jump without hitting the railing. The fox chirped from it’s spot at his feet, as it leapt up a step before gracefully jumping on the railing. It didn’t move under the foxes weight as it silently walked along the beam coming to Sam’s hands. 

“You got this Sam.” Corey whispered as Sam took a small breath and he jumped. Using the railing to propel himself, he was able to clear the piece of metal. He was falling, and he felt the reality sink in he could die here. He cou... Hands were grabbing him as he clung to the first person he was able to wrap his arms around as he was lowered to the ground. Arms were pulling him closer as he tried to calm his racing heart and his panicked breathing. 

“I got you. I got you!” Elton muttered as he pulled the young man closer to his chest. “We are done, pour the gas and let’s get the fuck out of here.” Elton ordered as he scooped the shaking man up, heading out the front door and to the cars. He slipped past the fire blockade heading for the vehicle as Elton opened the passenger side door setting Sam inside. His fingers didn’t let go as Elton tried to pull away. 

“Sam I need you to let go.” Elton said as Sam looked up at him, tears swimming in his eyes. Huffing a breath, Elton gave one final glance to the house before squatting down to get eye level with the shaking man. “Okay, I’m not leaving. I’m right here.” Elton mumbled as Sam let the first of the tears fall. 

“I thou-”

“Don’t think about it okay.” 

“The fox…” 

“Uh… what?” 

“The fox was there, it led me across to the railing. I would have fallen if it hadn’t been there.” Elton stared at Sam, but the younger didn’t seem to notice because he was deep in his head. “I thought I was going to die, I thought the house was going to kill me. Like it tried to kill Colby. We shouldn’t have come back. We shouldn’t have come back. I fucked up again. I fucked up again.” Sam whimpered as he started to struggle to get his breath. 

“Breathe Sam. Just breathe.” Sam wasn’t listening as he started to hyperventilate. Elton struggled to get the younger man’s grip free from his sleeve, but when he finally did he put Sam’s hand on his chest. “Follow my lead, breathe with me. In and out. In and out.” Sam took a few minutes to understand, but he slowly started to match the others breathing. “You’re doing great Sam. Keep it up.” Elton supported as he kept Sam’s hand on his chest letting him match his breaths. 

“I thought I was going to die.” Sam mumbled once he got his breathing under control. 

“You thought we’d let you die in there? Sam we wouldn’t have let you die. So, stop thinking like that. Now,” Elton said as he heard footsteps coming from behind him. He stood up offering his hand to Sam, “Let’s go watch this place burn.” Sam hesitated before linking his hand with Elton’s as the eldest pulled him to his feet, guiding him back to the fire blockade. The group was waiting, as Corey rushed the last bit of gasoline along the steps, stopping a bit away from the ripped up grass. The male officer gave one more puff of the cigarette as Corey slipped behind the barricade, throwing the can into the closest car. 

“You want to do it kid?” The officer asked offering Sam the cigarette. Sam hesitated for a few moments before taking the burning object and looking up to the last bit of gasoline. He hoped he didn’t miss. He sent the cigarette sailing, as it licked the edge of the gasoline and the fire roared to life. It charged up the stone steps following the trail into the manor before disappearing inside as the scent of ash and destruction filled the air. 

“You guys should probably leave. We are going to make a call to the fire department.” The female officer ordered as the group of friends nodded heading to the cars. 

“You okay man?” Brennen asked as he clasped a hand on Sam’s shoulder getting the other to flinch. 

“Yeah, let’s just get the hell out of here.” Sam admitted as he climbed into the backseat of Elton’s car. Corey sat beside him, as Aaron went to his own car followed by Jake and Brennen. 

“It’s done. It’s done.” Sam whispered as a soft smile played on his lips. Sam dozed off about half an hour later, leaning on Corey as soft snores escaped him. 

“Hey Elton?” Corey asked getting the oldests attention. “He didn’t blame himself, did he?” 

“Yeah he did… Corey?” Corey looked into the rear view mirror catching Elton’s eyes. “Sam said he saw the fox.” Corey gave him a confused look. 

“There wasn’t anything there.” Corey whispered.


	10. Reforging Bonds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Colby wakes up in pain and attempts to remember.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter takes place almost directly after the other two, so Colby’s memory isn’t the best.

Colby groaned as he sat up, his right arm bracing him up as his ribs screamed at him. Meds, he needed his meds. Blinking a few times, he looked at the side table, noticing the pill bottles. Pushing himself up enough to lean against the backboard, and he reaches over to grab the bottle of pills and water. The pills were close enough to him that they weren’t much of a problem, but the water was just out of his reach. Colby took a deep breath, moving himself a bit more as his fingers skimmed the side of the bottle knocking it to the floor. 

Ugh. Colby had to take care of that now, he had to get up and clean up the spilled water. The bathroom wasn’t far, thankfully but there was the issue of getting up, without making his ribs, side or head spin. Pushing himself away from the backboard, he swung his legs over the edge of the bed trying to stop the wince from forming. He swallowed the pain as he pushed himself up his hand finding the side table. His head spun as he took a deep breath clenching his teeth in pain before trudging along the side of the bed, his fingers dancing across the sheets until he could reach the wall. 

By the time he got to the door, he’s panting small traces of sweat forming on his skin. God why is everything so hard? He was just trying to get to the bathroom to grab a washcloth, why was he like this. He grabbed the door, pulling it open the rest of the way as he looked into the dark hallway, it was late he knew it. He was guessing though, he didn’t have a phone Sam said he was going to go buy him a new one tomorrow. 

A searing pain rolled through his chest as he gasped for breath, his right hand gripping the molding around the door as he slowly let the air out of his lungs. He needed to calm down, he needed to focus on just getting into the bathroom. He stumbled his hand catching him on the side of the door, as he leaned against the frame. He staggered into the bathroom, his hand grabbing the counter stopping him from falling. He caught his breath, as he looked around the dark room, grabbing a towel and tucking it on top of the sling. 

The light flickered on as a dark haired woman stared at him. He tried to place her name, he knew her, of course he did, but the name wasn’t coming to him. She scanned him up and down a few times before fixing the green tank top she was wearing. 

“Why are you up?” She asked, her voice quiet and tired. 

“It’s fine.” Colby whispered. Why couldn’t he remember her name! She narrowed her eyes at him for a few moments before noticing the washcloth on the sling. 

“What happened?” She questioned as she stepped forward crossing a bit of the distance. 

“I… I knocked over the water bottle.” Colby admitted as she grabbed the washcloth from him. 

“You should go lay down, you’re swaying. Come on, I’ll take you back.” She said, offering her hand as Colby hesitated. Come on head, what the hell is her name? She took his hand after a moment as he felt his body protest at the touch. He let her lead him back to the bedroom as she turned on the light. 

“Here, lie down.” She ordered gesturing to the bed as she went to work cleaning up his mess. He could have done that, he thinks, but his body quickly reminds him that he cannot. “Colby?” She asks, noticing he hadn’t moved from the spot she had left him. 

“I…” 

“It’s okay. You don’t have to remember my name.” She said with a soft smile as she finished wiping up the water. “Do you want me to get Sam?” She asked as Colby shook his head no. “Okay, then let’s get you to bed.” She walked over to him, taking his good hand guiding him back to his bed. “I’m going to go refill your water, I’ll be right back.” She grabbed the empty bottle leaving him alone. 

He wasn’t stupid, he knew her, but why the hell couldn’t he remember her. His head, roared at him as he winced at the pain, a small moan escaping his lips. His ribs screamed at him as he tried to take a deep breathe. His head reeled as he rubbed at his eyes looking over at the pills, he should take them. Yet he wanted to wait for her to return to the water, as another surge of pain rolled through him. His head rolled as his stomach spun, taking a deep breath, he forced his attention away to the sticky notes that covered the wall. He didn’t really remember the prank all that much, but he remembers how disappointed Sam was. 

Colby blinked as the bedroom door opened, didn’t she shut it on the way out? No one entered the room and his skin started to crawl, his breath becoming harder as he pushed himself to his feet. He knew she would be mad at him for getting up again, but he needed to see what opened the door. Stumbling over to the door he looked out, noticing Sam’s bedroom door was shut tight and no one was in the hall. Shutting the door, he tried to lock it before remembering the lock was broken. 

He shuffled back to bed as the door creaked again, his attention snapping to it as it swung fully open still with nobody there. Voices whipped around him, hands tore at him, grabbing for his arms as they tried to drag him to the ground. His breath coming in pants as he tried to fight the pain that was tearing through his chest. His head spun, as more hands grabbed at him, their voices hissing into his head. What was happening? His knees caught him as he crashed to the ground his good hand, stopping him from slamming into the floor and injuring himself further. He was shaking, as his body tried to fight the hands that ripped at his skin and the voices that assaulted his mind. The lights above him started to flicker on and off, as he slammed his eyes closed trying to focus on his breathing. 

A scratching noise made his eyes snap open as silver irises stared back at him. The bright red coloring of the fox almost glowed in the darkness as the lights continued to flicker above. It moved forward, keeping its eyes locked with his as the voices started to quiet, the hands began to slow. With each step the insanity that rolled through him began to calm as the fox lowered its ears and stopped inches from his face. 

“Colby!” Colby cringed at the yell before blinking. His vision cleared as the light no longer flickered, the fox disappeared and he met the worried eyes of his best friend. 

“... Sam…” Colby whispered as Sam gripped his shoulders a bit tighter, it hurt but he didn’t care.

“What happened?” Sam asked as he pulled Colby up by his good arm and steadily got him on the bed, helping him to lay down. 

“The door… I thought…” Colby stuttered as the woman looked at the open door for a few moments before walking into the hall double checking it. 

“There’s nothing there, Colby.” She stated as Sam sat beside him. 

“Are you okay? I heard you fall.” Sam said as Colby nodded. 

“Sorry for worrying you.” Colby hated being weak like this, he hated worrying his friends. He didn’t want to stress them out anymore than they already were. 

“It’s okay.” Sam muttered as he grabbed the water bottle that the woman had gone to get. “Here take some meds, they might help.” Sam offered him the pills as Colby quickly swallowed them before chasing them with water. 

“Thanks…” Sam nodded as he slipped off the bed preparing to leave as Colby grabbed his best friend's wrist. “Please…” Colby whispered as Sam glanced at the woman for a few moments. 

“Of course.” Sam stated as he climbed on the other side of the bed. The girl smiled at them before heading towards the door and flickering off the light, about to leave. 

“Wait.” She stopped looking at Colby for a few moments. 

“It’s okay. I’m just going to-”

“Please, Kat.” Colby mumbled as she stopped. Kat stared at him before giving a small smile and walking back into the bedroom. 

“It’s going to be a tight squeeze.” She whispered as she climbed next to Sam. 

“I can’t move much.” Colby chuckled before pain followed after, getting him to sputter and cough. “Sorry.” 

“It’s okay. Get some sleep Colby.” Kat muttered as she curled herself half on top of Sam. 

“Night Colby.” 

“Night Sam, night Kat.”


	11. Foxes Insight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Colbys pissed he can’t go on an xploration videos.

“You're not thinking clearly.” Elton snapped as Colby rolled his eyes sitting up from where he was lounging on the couch, ignoring the pain from his chest and side. 

“I thought that was the point of a concussion.” Colby responded as he looked up at his oldest roommate. Elton rubbed at the bridge of his nose, before releasing his held breath. They were alone in the house, the others had gone to record a new video leaving the two of them behind. Colby wanted to go, but he was almost two weeks since the incident and the others wanted him to stay at the house to be safe. Colby hated it, he was stronger than they gave him credit for. He could get up and down the stairs now with only minor pain from his side. The low dosage of pain meds weren’t stopping all the pain anymore, which sucked but he was learning to deal with it. 

“Colby.” Elton groaned. “You know why you couldn’t go.” Elton stated as he crossed his arms looking at the younger. 

“It’s an abandoned hospital, what's the issue there. Sam had even scouted it out a few times, making sure there was going to be no issue, if I wanted to tag along.” Colby responded as he lowered himself back down on the couch, his head resting on Circa’s stomach as the husky yawned. His head rolled with the movement, making him nauseous, but he wasn’t about to tell Elton that. 

“You’re still recovering, so it’s no. Your parents would kill us.” Elton said as Colby groaned digging his head into the husky’s side. “I’m going to order pizza, alright… Do you want anything?” 

“No…” Colby admitted as he pushed himself off the dog and off the couch with his good arm. His side burned with the movement, but he chose to ignore it, opting to be silent. “I’m going to go watch a show on my computer.” Colby muttered. 

“You don’t have to leave.” Elton started, but Colby just headed towards the stairs. “I know it pisses you off, but you get why I’m saying no, right?” 

“Yeah…” Colby responded as he ascended the stairs. His side roared at him as he gets to the top of the stairs, forcing Colby to stop to catch his breath. He hated this so much, he just wanted to go back out there with Sam. He wants to go explore new places, and see the world from a different view like he loves to do. This… this sucks. He can’t do anything without the eyes of his friends on him. He gets it, he really does he’s still recovering and will be for a while, but he just wants to be himself again. His head reeled as he stood up straight, causing him to grab the railing and take a few deep breaths. 

Concussion, yep he definitely has that. His arm in a sling and burning every time he tries to remotely move it, check. His screaming side that seems to like the idea of being on fire, how could he forget. His cracked ribs liked to remind him how bad off he was whenever he breathed, got them. Then finally, his favorite part of the whole process was the constant rolling of his stomach, due to the concussion, that only allowed him to keep certain foods down. Check! He had the whole horrible package as he got his body under some semblance of control before he made the short walk to his bedroom. 

He was panting by the time he got there, shutting the door behind himself as he huffed from the pain. 

“Fuck…” Colby whispered as he sat down as carefully as possible on his couch. His head screamed as he pressed his palms into his eyes, taking slow controlled breaths. He doesn’t know how long he stayed like that before his stomach decides to join in, making him gag on nothing. Jumping to his feet, he rushes to the bathroom, slamming the door behind him and throwing the contents of his stomach into the toilet. 

“Fuck…” He really thought he was doing better. Okay, concussions take longer to recover from, noted. A soft knock comes from the door and Colby flinches away from the noise, opting to sit in the dark bathroom. He listens for a few moments almost expecting whoever it was to open the door, but then he hears soft steps as they leave the door. 

“Elton.” A voice calls down the stairs and it takes Colby all of five seconds to place the worry in Kat’s voice. His head soars as he leans against the tiled walls, letting the cold burn away the heat on his skin. A hard knock came from the door, and this time Colby doesn’t have to question who is knocking. 

“Bro, you okay?” Elton asks the concern lacing his voice. “Kat heard you slam the door and got concerned.” 

“M, fine.” Colby answers but he knows Elton won’t believe him. 

“If you're fine, why is it dark in there?” Elton questions as he turns the door knob coming into the room. The light pushes away the darkness, making Colby’s head roar at him, his stomach twisting and he’s lucky he was right next to the toilet. Elton shuts the door behind him, reaching over the sink and flicking on the night light that Sam bought a few days back. 

“I brought some water.” Elton said as he sat down a bit away from Colby giving the brunette some space. Colby nodded as Elton cracked the seal and removed the cap handing it to Colby who took a few small sips. 

“Thanks…” They sat in silence. Colby’s harsh breathing being the only constant sound in the bathroom as he got his stomach back under control. “I’m sorry…” 

“For what?” Elton asked. 

“Arguing. I really thought I was feeling better, I guess my body proved me wrong.” Elton chuckled. 

“You’re just a bit irritated that you have to be in the house almost all the time. You want to get out, I get it, but we are just trying to look out for you.” Elton admitted as Colby nodded. “I know we never really talked about it… ah, never mind.” Colby gave him a curious look. 

“What?” 

“I just… I was wondering what you remembered from the manor?” Elton asked. They hadn’t really discussed what happened at the manor and Colby never pushed. He didn’t want to know to some degree, but at the same time, he remembered things and he wanted to talk, but knew it might be better to keep his mouth shut. 

“I… I remember voices. Lots of voices, almost spinning around me.” Colby took a deep breath, his eyes falling shut as his stomach lurched. Elton waited patiently as Colby got his body back under control. “Hands grabbing at me, pulling me away from where I had fallen, but they never hurt me. It was weird…” 

“Like they were… trying to take you away?” 

“No. I can’t…” Colby thought, trying to find a way to describe it. “Like, they were trying to help by getting me away from the hole. That sounds insane.” 

“No, just hard to understand.” Elton pointed out. “I don’t know what happened to you down there, but I was just curious what you remembered. Do you remember me coming down there?” Elton questioned. 

“I remember you just appearing. I… I couldn’t place who you were, and it scared the hell out of me. I felt so bad that I forgot who you were once I realized.” Colby admitted. 

“You took a pretty hard hit to the head, I wouldn’t be surprised if you had forgotten Sam.” Elton joked as Colby chuckled. 

“Fair.” Colby licked his lips taking a few more sips of water. “Right before you came… There was something else there.” Elton watched the younger man as he thought. 

“What do you mean?” 

“There... there was a fox.” Elton’s eyes widened slightly at the statement. “It sat by me, and it kept me company. Even when you came it kept moving, keeping me calm and keeping the voices and hands away. It showed me the tunnel, it told me about a woman.” Elton’s face went blank as he ran his hand along his beard thinking. 

“What color was it?” 

“Red… like that mural. What’s wrong?” Colby asked as Elton shifted uncomfortably. 

“There was a fox that helped us escape the manor. A red fox.” 

“You don’t think?” 

“I don’t know what to think. What do foxes mean, even.” Elton asked, digging out his phone and typing into the search bar. “A fox often represents a trickster, however it can also turn into a teacher. Providing guidance on swiftly finding your way around obstacles and sticky situations. When a fox appears in your life it encourages action and quick, swift moves… Shit… it led us out of the manor around that psycho, taking us through a hidden route. It led us to the hospital and then just disappeared.” 

“Psycho?” Colby questioned as Elton huffed a breath. 

“There was a psycho lady in the manor with an axe and she was trying to kill us.” 

“Why didn’t anyone tell me that?” 

“You were sort of passed out for the majority of it.” Elton admitted as Colby rubbed at his throbbing head. 

“Great…” 

“Here,” Elton pushed himself to his feet, grabbing the water bottle, putting the cap on. “Let’s get you to your room so you can get some sleep. I can bring up some soup in a bit.” Elton said as he offered his hand to Colby getting him to take it. Hauling Colby to his feet, the younger swayed as Elton caught him stabilizing him. 

“You good?” Colby nodded through closed eyes as he gritted his teeth. 

“Might need stronger pain meds.” Colby laughed as Elton shook his head, guiding them out of the bathroom. 

“You gotta get off of them.” Elton muttered as he helped Colby into his room, getting him settled on the bed. “Do you need anything else?” Elton questioned setting down the bottle of water on the side table as Colby shook his head. 

“Just tired.” 

“Okay, I’ll turn off the light and be back to check on you in a bit okay.” Elton said as Colby nodded. Flicking off the bedroom light, Elton shut the door quietly letting Colby drift off to sleep after a few minutes. Elton peeked into the bedroom, his phone in hand as he glanced at the brunette over. He turned to head away from the bedroom, pulling up the news article that Sam just messaged him. 

**_Fox Manor Burns to the Ground._** Elton couldn’t help the smile that crossed his face. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One chapter left guys. Is it weird I don’t want it to be over. If you guys want I might make small one shots but only if you guys want that.


	12. Video Update

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Colby finally sits down to make a small update video.

“You got it?” Colby asked as Sam fixed the camera on the stand. It had already fallen once and Colby was happy that Sam was willing to help him film this update. It felt like it’s been forever since he’s sat in front of a camera even though it's been barely over three weeks now. He runs his good hand over his hair, it was a bit longer now hiding some of the scars but most were still visible. His left arm was no longer in a sling but still quite heavily bandaged, the doctors said besides his side it would be the longest to heal. His ribs weren’t bandaged any more, but he still needed to be wary of them. His side was only in a minor wrap and his concussion was mostly healed, in truth, he hasn’t felt this good in a while. 

“It didn’t break, did it?” Sam questioned as Colby shrugged, it didn’t look broken. 

“Nah, I literally thought it did, though.” Colby admitted as Sam fixed the tripod before clicking record once again. “Good?” A nod was all he needed from Sam. 

“Alright, hey guys. Um… I know it’s been a while a little over three weeks since I’ve updated or really any of us have.” Colby started playing with the bandage around his left wrist. “As you can probably tell some things happened… I know we’ve been practically silent and I’m sorry about that, but we wanted to keep a low profile, especially so we wouldn’t worry you guys.” Colby licked his lips. 

“I guess since I’m sitting in front of the camera I’ll tell you a bit about what happened. About three weeks ago, we went xploring a new location planning on having a new video uploaded a few days later… the house....” Colby stopped collecting his head before turning to face the camera again.  
  
“The house… ah, it wasn’t a house… the manor wasn’t as stable as we thought it was. I fell and I got pretty badly hurt.” Colby swallowed the lump in his throat as he said that.   


“Given my current look you could have all assumed that, but I was the only one hurt on the expedition. Sam, Corey and Elton were not harmed, but they… we saw some things in that house… That um… screwed us up a bit. So we’ve been getting our heads back on straight for the past few weeks so that’s why we haven’t been uploading anything. 

I just thought it wasn’t fair to keep you guys out of the loop for so long, but I understand why they did it. I wasn’t in the right head space until probably a few days ago, as I’m still recovering. I will not be in any exploration videos, haunted videos, or prank videos for a while. Sam will continue to upload and until I’m feeling better someone will take my place in our videos on our shared channel. Until I’m feeling well enough to do more videos my personal channel will be silent, I won’t be on social media as much as I was before the accident if at all. I need to take my time to recover and doing videos won’t exactly allow me that time. I’m sorry for worrying you all so much and I’ll talk to you all later.” Sam hit the record button again as the camera turned off and Colby took a deep breath pushing himself to his feet. 

“You know they are going to ask so many questions.” Sam stated as he pulled the camera from the tripod. 

“I know I just needed to say something.” Colby said as he rubbed at the back of his neck. 

“Yeah, I get it. I was going to do a video for my own channel tomorrow. I can edit yours tonight.” Sam admitted as he looked at Colby waiting for resistance. 

“I don’t think it’s wise for me to sit in front of a screen for hours editing. So it’s all yours man.” Colby muttered as Sam nodded packing up the equipment. “Is Elton still ordering that pizza?” 

“We shall go see.” Sam said as he dropped the equipment off in his room before the two headed towards the stairs. 

“I didn’t do it Elton!” Corey’s voice screamed up the steps as Sam stopped giving Colby a concerned look. 

“Yes you did! I have it on my recent contacts you dip shit!” Elton yelled back as the two got to the base floor looking at the two men who were screaming in the kitchen. 

“What’s going on?” Colby asked, getting glares from the others. 

“He called my phone again, leaving those stupid cryptic messages on my answering machine.” Elton growled. 

“Why the fuck would I do that? Also how the fuck would I do that!” Corey roared as Colby blinked at them confused. 

“What are you talking about?” Colby questioned as Elton huffed grabbing his phone and walking over to show Colby. He scanned the number over, before reaching into his pocket digging out his new cell phone double checking the number. 

“I was with you the whole fucking day!”

“Guys!” Colby shouted, getting the group of three to turn to him. “This isn’t Corey’s number. Actually I don’t have this number at all on my phone.” Colby pointed out showing the screens identifying the numbers. 

“HA!” Corey yelled. 

“Then why does it say it’s Corey?” Elton asked as he grabbed his phone back. 

“I don’t know.” Sam admitted as he looked the number over comparing it to the one in his phone. That didn’t make sense as the group fell silent, thinking for a few moments as Colby’s phone started to ring. He dropped the device, thankful that Sam had bought him an Otterbox as his own name lit up the screen. Slowly, the others gathered as Corey scooped up the phone and answered the call, turning it to speaker. 

“Hello?” 

_ ColBy… _ A mishmash of voices spoke, causing them all to stand around in shock... _ nOt hUrT… _ Colby blinked before getting his voice back. 

“I’m healing.” Colby muttered as there was silence from the other end. 

_ saFe?... aLL sAfe… _

“Yeah,” Sam spoke, “we are all safe. Who are you? You called before, who are you?” 

_ … goODbYe… SaM… ColBy… eLTon… coReY… GoOdbYe... _ The call ended leaving the group of friends stunned as they gathered their thoughts. 

“So…” Elton started before cutting himself off. 

“Who wants to get a fox tattoo?” Colby asked as the others started laughing, a smile crossed his lips.

“Pizza?” Sam asked as Elton grumbled something about starving children. They were safe, and to the four of them, that's all that mattered. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the last chapter of the main story. I’m happy you all enjoyed it. My spin offs will probably pop up here and there. Thank you all so much for you comments and kudos!


End file.
